Your Stories: Meet Melanie and Jacques

This month’s ‘Your Stories’ is all about Melanie and her husband Jacques. Melanie is a wife, mother of three and a blogger. Her blog, www.windinaletterbox.com, covers topics relating to faith, marriage and parenting. A self-confessed tea and chocolate lover, it’s clear that Melanie’s family means the world to her. This is their story.

How long have you been together?

We met at university in 2000 and dated on and off for a couple of years. Then we broke up but remained friends, and in 2008 we reconnected, started dating again, and got married in 2009. When we got back together, we prayed and fasted for two weeks because we didn’t just want a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. We started dating with the intention of getting married.

How many children do you have and what are their ages?

We have three children. Angie is six, Emmy is four, and Raphael is three months old.

How did having children change/affect your relationship?

It’s meant we have to be more intentional about making time to spend together, just the two of us. It’s also brought us closer together and made us appreciate each other more. We rely on each other in different ways than before.

How did you first meet?

We studied drama at Wits. I was in first year and he was in third year. We ended up taking the same music course.

What was it about your partner that you were first attracted to?

His presence. And his smile.

What was the proposal like?

We were having a picnic at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, and he asked me to take a look at a script he was thinking of doing. He had typed out his proposal, cut it to size, and slipped it into the script. Because I was skimming the pages, I had turned to the next page before I registered that the scene didn’t make sense. So I read it again, then looked up to see him holding the ring.

Do you do date nights? If so, what do you normally do?

We haven’t gone out for date night for a while. (This last pregnancy was hard on me, and just the thought of getting dressed up and going somewhere made me want to cry.) Our usual date night at home is watching a movie, or binge watching a series. Date night has become less about going out somewhere, and more about intentionally spending time together.

What has been one of your most romantic moments together?

My idea of romance has changed over the years. It’s the little things that mean the most these days. At the moment I think it’s really romantic when he gets up with the kids in the morning so that I have a chance to sleep in.

What funny quirks does your partner have?

He’s very particular about the right way to make scrambled eggs. (a la Jamie Oliver).

What is your idea of the ‘perfect relationship’?

I don’t think any relationship is perfect, because there are no perfect people. A successful marriage, to me, means putting God at the centre and loving your spouse the way God intends you to.

“My idea of romance has changed over the years. It’s the little things that mean the most these days.”